Federal Officials Educate Payroll Professionals on Current Changes

Officials from the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and the new Department of Homeland Security answered prepared questions from payroll practitioners on wage-hour, tax, and immigration issues in the Forum on Federal Payroll Issues held during the American Payroll Association’s 21st Annual Congress. This forum was moderated by Michael O’Toole, APA’s Senior Director of Publications and Government Relations.

Fax Hotline for Form W-4

IRS’s Fresno Service Center has created a fax hotline that allows employers to fax any questionable Form W-4s filed by their employees, said Thomas Burger, IRS’s headquarters program manager for employment taxes. The number is (559) 265-5848, he told attendees. Later, Burger said that he favored a system similar to SSA’s Enumeration Verification System for IRS that would allow companies to verify name and taxpayer identification number information provided by independent contractors. IRS has established a pilot program for this purpose and is receiving pressure to expand it to the national level, he noted.

Change in Process

The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services will eliminate two pilot programs that allowed businesses to check the employment eligibility of workers they hired, including the Citizenship Attestation Employment Verification program, by the end of this year, according to Gilberto Cortinas, special agent with the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A change in the Form I-9 process used to verify worker eligibility will result in so-called “businesses of national interest,” such as transportation companies, receiving priority over other busineses, Cortinas added.

In response to a question on updating the Form I-9 manual form and employer handbook, Cortinas said the BCIS is still working on plans.

Electronic Child Support Remittances

There are currently two states (Illinois and Indiana) that require child support payments be submitted electronically, Carol Callahan, director of employer services in HHS’s Office of Child Support, told practitioners. In Indiana, only employers with 50 or more employees are required to file, while only employers with more than 250 employees are required to file in Illinois, she added.

Five states (Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington state) have web-based systems for child support payment remissions, Callahan noted.

Tax Holiday

SSA has not taken an official position on the FICA tax holiday proposals currently in Congress because nothing is definite yet, Mark Ruley, senior financial management analyst in SSA’s Office of the Senior Financial Executive said.

Child Support and Reservists

OCSE has given high priority to review cases of reservists who owe child support but have been called up for service overseas, Callahan said. Those reservists currently on active duty have had their cases transferred to military control until they return to the civilian world, at which time their cases can be returned to civilian control, she said.

By Keith M. Hill